“This madness cannot continue”: Palestinian president urges world to end Israeli war in Gaza
New York (Quds News Network)- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the United States for its continuing support for Israel’s war on Gaza and asked the international community to stop supplying weapons to Israel.
At his speech at the 193-member UN General Assembly on Thursday, in his first address to the chamber since Israel launched its assault last October, Abbas declared that Palestinians will not leave Gaza.
“Palestine is our homeland. It is the land of our fathers, our grandfathers. It will remain ours,” he said. “If anyone were to leave, it would be the occupying usurpers.”
US supports Israel
Abbas singled out Washington, saying it continues to provide diplomatic cover and weapons to Israel despite the mounting death toll in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed at least 41,534 people since October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
He accused the US of allowing Israel’s assault to continue by repeatedly vetoing UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We regret that the United States, the largest democracy in the world, obstructed three times draft resolutions of the Security Council demanding Israel to observe a ceasefire,” Abbas said.
“The US alone stood and said, ‘No, the fighting is going to continue,’” he said.
“This madness cannot continue”
Abbas urged the UN General Assembly to stop Israel’s war on Gaza, saying the Israeli military had almost entirely destroyed Gaza and it was no longer fit for life.
“This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people.”
Abbas called for an international peace conference under the auspices of the UN within a year, and reiterated calls for a two-state solution to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Post-war Gaza proposal
Abbas also laid out a 12-point proposal for Gaza after the war is over. He called for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, without the establishment of buffer zones or the seizure of any part of Gaza.
He said the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, should govern post-war Gaza as part of a Palestinian state, a vision that Israel rejects.
“We are not asking for more, but we will not accept any less,” Abbas said.
